Financial Priorities and Representation in #theFIEC: An

faithandorganizations.umd.edu

Contrary to assertions that religious involvement in social service is a new development of the neoliberal state, faith communities have always been an integral component of the social welfare system in the United States (Cnaan, Wineburg, and Boddie 1999;. The various social welfare, health, and educational institutions translate each religion's theology into practice through system design and day to day agency practice. Over time, these organizations reflect changes in theology, such as the shift from charity to justice after Vatican II for Catholic institutions. Often, change involves ongoing adaptation between various theological traditions, government regulation, and other issues influencing service provision strategies. At other times, agencies can become battlegrounds for arguments about appropriate theology and the use of faith community resources .

Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 2010

This case study illustrates the unique challenges of leading a faith-based nonprofit organization within a multifaith constituency in Asia. The core themes of the case are based on research conducted with the staff, executive team, and board members of an international faith-based nonprofit organization in Asia. Specifically, the case focuses on three identity-based leadership dilemmas in relation to (1) creating a shared sense of organizational identity, (2) talent management, and (3) board governance. By describing the challenges faced by the CEO, the case shows how a strong faith-based identification can positively bind an organization together, but also result in organizational blind spots with unintended consequences.

2020

The word “globalization” refers to a multiplicity of political, economic, cultural and media processes having a clear impact on present day history. We live in a world characterized by fear and mutual alienation, a world where many are forced into situations that immerse them in processes of cultural homogenization, happening even within religious organizations and Christian communities. This article aims to analyze the challenges posed to the Church by a pluricultural and interconnected world, so as to offer to humanity a culture of mutual love and hope rooted in the gospel. The importance of fostering and safeguarding real and visible intercultural relationships in Christian communities is explored. The today of history Christians believe that God became flesh in Christ. This means that they believe that history has become a meeting place where human beings encounter not only other human beings but also God. It also means that the quality of relationships is crucial, for it is thr...

2013

This thesis discusses how an ethnically and racially diverse Anglican congregation practises worship in a multicultural setting. It uses three worshiping practices, (1) sharing meals, (2) singing during Sunday liturgy, and (3) exercising leadership, to discuss this phenomenon. The methodology adopted is a phenomenological approach using participant observation, a questionnaire, and two group interviews. An analysis of the interviews yields the participants' own meanings that complicate and sometimes even challenge two widely held assumptions about the Church and immigration: (1) the concept of multiculturalism is settled; and (2) ethnic and racial diversity are accepted as the norm in the Anglican parish. As a comprehensive analysis of the experience of a single parish, this study contributes to the conversation on multiculturalism in the Anglican Church and to future research on worshipping practices in similar Anglican parishes in Toronto and beyond. The discussion and larger study have implications for the Anglican Church in Canada and its policies of multiculturalism at a time when it is reexamining the impact of ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity on its membership. Chapter 1 introduces the thesis. Chapter 2 explores the background and context of my engagement in ministry. I identify three areas, (1) the parish of Christ Church Scarborough Village, (2) the demographics of Toronto, and (3) Canadian multiculturalism, as important for the setting of the study. Chapter 3 outlines my theology of ministry and highlights the importance of hospitality as a core concept in my understanding of parish ministry. I also provide a review of the literature as I discuss some fundamental biblical, theological, and social science theories for the study. This chapter ends with theological, pastoral, and sociological assumptions operative in the study. Chapter 4 addresses the Action in Ministry and explains the qualitative research methodology employed in this work and lays out the process and procedure. Chapter 5 presents the collection of the data and analyses, providing a dialogue among the three worshipping practices and three cluster themes. Chapter 6 synthesizes the findings and offers evaluation and contributions of the study. Chapter 7 concludes with the contributions of the study. Also in this concluding chapter, I challenge the notion of a multicultural church and recommend the move from a multicultural church to a just multicultural church where welcoming differences is critical for the integration of racial, ethnic, and cultural groups in a congregation with a long tradition of Anglicanism. I also share personal reflections and suggest areas for further research before summarizing and concluding the study. DEDICATION My mother, Audrey Elaine Hinds 1935-2911 This thesis is dedicated to my mother, the late Audrey Elaine Hinds, a woman of grace, faith in God, and deep love for her children. It was in her arms two months after birth that I was taken to the font of the Anglican cathedral of St. Michael and All Angels in the Diocese of Barbados and where my relationship with the Anglican Church began. My mother instilled in me many positive values such as discipline, the importance of doing one's best, determination, and hard work to achieve success. Her death while I was completing this thesis was made lighter because of the way her spirit inspired me. My dad, Lionel Hinds, who taught me to value education for "where it can take you." 1923-2002 My sister, Heather Elaine Hinds, who taught me the Christian lesson of how to die before one dies.

""Reviews "... Engagingly and accessibly written... deserves wide readership among everyone interested in US religion, ethnicity, organizations and urban culture." -- Choice "...fascinating...offers valuable insights...This book will be of great interest to scholars of religion in America..." -- Sociology of Religion Fall 2006 "...highly readable... easily used in an undergraduate course...engaging...useful for a graduate course...I look forward to reading Marti's future work." -- Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion "...of methodological value to students of new religious movements...will help observers of other groups as well." -- Novo Religio, 10, 3 Feb. 2007 "Marti's argument seems to be that such a complex project can succeed..." -- Contemporary Sociology, 36, 1 Jan. 2007 "Anyone wishing to gain a deeper understanding of American evangelical diversity, of the emergent church movement, and of intriguing congregational efforts to bridge ethnic divides, will want to read this book." --Christian Scholar's Review Mosaic in Southern California is one of the largest multiethnic congregations in America, and also one of the most innovative. This book takes us inside this unusual church. It shows how the church has achieved multiethnicity, not by targeting ethnic groups, but by providing multiple havens of inclusion and commonality that render ethnic differences moot. These havens are arenas for multiethnic companionship, cooperation, and camaraderie that arise out of a union of creative volunteer resources and the ambitious global mission of the church. A Mosaic of Believers examines the structure of the church and the innovative aspects of its mission. It reveals a congregation aiming to reconstruct evangelical theology, personal identity, member involvement, and church governance in an attempt to create an institution with greater relevance to the social reality of a new generation. Based on interviews and participation with the congregation and grounded in contemporary sociological theory, the book presents a rich portrait of an emerging religious community.""

Using a qualitative study of interviews with ministers who work in ethnically diverse British Methodist congregations, I explore the practices that encourage a sense of belonging together as one body in Christ and how these influence a congregation's ethos. Analysing how the respondents see their own role in this work I argue that the key challenge is the enabling of power-sharing, to which ministers contribute but which they cannot determine alone. I conclude that the decisive factor is the willingness of the members to allow the whole body to be changed by those who are 'other' and 'different'.

Employing insights from critical whiteness theory, I analyze the fundraising experiences of racial minorities within predominantly white evangelical outreach ministries (EOMs) in order to assess the ways in which the funding structure of EOMs contributes to the reproduction of white structural and cultural dominance and, ultimately, racial homogeneity within these organizations. Quantitative and qualitative data from a mixed-race sample of EOM workers (N = 716) reveal that white dominance is reproduced within the funding structure of EOMs through two primary means: (1) the individualistic fundraising model of EOMs naturally advantages whites over economically disadvantaged minorities, thereby reproducing whites' structural dominance. And (2) the fundraising strategies of EOMs embody white cultural preferences that become normalized, requiring minorities to sacrifice their own preferences and relationships to adapt. The EOM funding structure thus becomes a mechanism for reproducing white dominance and ultimately fortifying racial divisions and perpetuating racial homogeneity within EOMs.

Anglican Multiethnic Network, 2019

One of the growing pains in the ACNA is the intentional pursuit of becoming a Church that truly embraces the peoples, languages, and cultures that are present in North America. It has provoked efforts at liturgical purity and hyper-conformity to some perceived glorious Anglo Golden Age, as well as inspired tendencies toward the heresy of ethnophyletism, urging people to worship “their own way with their own people, separate from others.”

The Ecumenical Review, 2016

Being church could refer to international networks (globally), synod or regional networks, the local congregation, or even the specific services (like food services) of a local congregation. 1 The ecumenical church always has been a global (catholic, universal) institution -long before "globalization" became a social and economic concept. Building national, regional, and international networks is therefore an integral part of the church's self-understanding -and its response to poverty: in order to raise the necessary resources for relief services and sustainable, holistic community development. Apart from its identity -being in the service of God's mission in the world -one of the key characteristics of church-initiated networks is their strength of having caring, committed staff (and volunteers) working in every corner of every country on the local level. Their actions are "motivated by love for others -to serve others -because the Creator loved them first" (Makgoba). It is based on a theology of incarnation: being